STL KATHA
1ST ISSUE • OCTOBER 2024 TO MARCH 2025
1ST ISSUE • OCTOBER 2024 TO MARCH 2025
HRIDAYA KATHA – The first-ever pregnancy counselling center in Eastern India, started by SAVE THE LIVES under the guidance of PASSIONLIFE MINISTRIES, has begun its operations.
The day SAVE THE LIVES received the land and building as a gift for the glory of God, it became our passion to start a counselling center for women facing crisis pregnancies. As the local church stood with us, this dream came true. The tithe offered to the church was directed toward renovating the existing old building.
On February 9th, 2025, the center was inaugurated by Sister Jeanne Pernia, Counselor and Director of Operations for Latin America at PassionLife, in the presence of Pastor Mark Nicholson, Executive Director of PassionLife, along with several local pastors and believers.
A long-awaited need has now been met as the center, HRIDAYA KATHA (Heart-to-Heart Talk), begins its mission to counsel women in crisis pregnancies. Currently, Sutapa is taking on the responsibility of speaking with those who come, and we are spreading the word among churches that this center is available to anyone seeking such help.
NEST – The Temporary Mother House – is a service now available to women facing crisis pregnancies. It is located near Kolkata, in Howrah, close to the Botanical Garden. It was an immense joy to have it inaugurated by Pastor Mark Nicholson, Executive Director of PassionLife.
When SAVE THE LIVES was established in late 2015, two temporary mother houses were officially functioning—one in Coimbatore, South India, and the other in Lucknow, North India. Over time, various regions in India began taking the initiative to start similar facilities. However, the eastern region had no such services available to meet the growing need.
The situation became more pressing in 2022, when a woman from North Bengal facing a premarital pregnancy needed shelter for a safe delivery. Since there was no local facility, we had to refer her to the Lucknow center. The following year, a blind woman from a remote village in Orissa became pregnant after being raped by multiple men. The local villagers, blaming her for her condition, threatened to kill both the mother and her unborn child.
When we heard the news, we cried out to God to open a door to save and restore both the mother and her baby. By His grace, we were able to rescue them with the help of some local Christian believers—though they were unsure how long they could continue providing shelter and support.
Out of this uncertainty and urgency, NEST (Neighborhood Empathy in Special Time) was born—a modest two-bed facility with an attached bath, well-ventilated and filled with natural light. NEST is now ready to welcome courageous mothers who, despite their desperate situations, choose to carry and keep their babies, honoring the gift of life.
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Anmol Kumari Thakur, a 20-year-old girl, shared her story with Sutapa like this: About two years ago, she married her colleague without her parents’ consent. Initially, she was happy with him, but her world turned upside down when he refused to accept her pregnancy and forced her to abort their first child. She was devastated. As time passed, Anmol became pregnant again. This time, without informing her husband, she went to her parents and shared the news. When they contacted him, he responded coldly, saying that if Anmol didn’t terminate the pregnancy, he would leave her. This came as a bolt from the blue. Desperate to save her marriage, she ran from pillar to post, heart heavy with agony and unrest. The emotional stress took a toll on her health, and she suffered a miscarriage. The experience left her shattered for a while. Eventually, when her husband learned about the miscarriage, he returned and took her back home. He treated her well—at least until this current pregnancy happened.
Anmol's journey of motherhood
Anmol in district Govt. Hospital
This was the moment she met her teacher, Sutapa, and shared her story. Sutapa counselled her with care, and she decided to keep the baby—no matter what the cost. Through Sutapa, she came to know about the support that SAVE THE LIVES was going to provide. She regained her lost hope upon realizing that someone was willing to help her during such a tremendous time. She took a deep breath. In due time, Anmol, in her greatest joy, gave birth to a baby girl on the 10th of March, 2025. STL had the privilege of standing with her on her journey into motherhood by helping meet some of her physical needs during the crisis. Thanks to the prayer partners, and praise be to His Holy Name for saving another life.
From October 2024 to March 2025, more than 300 pastors, leaders, and students were trained on the value of human life and the importance of rescuing the weakest who are being led to death, through the 4 Questions Training. Many trainees also went on to teach others in turn (we are currently awaiting the exact number). The training has a solid biblical foundation and is easy to reflect on. It is an excellent tool to equip pastors, leaders, as well as everyday believers.
We also trained a group of ten men and women in Kolkata on how to counsel women facing a crisis pregnancy. We made them aware of the resources available that can help save lives. This was our first training on counselling, and now a team is ready to address the need—saving babies and sparing our land from bloodguilt.
Leaders attending the Pro-life Leadership Development Program
One day seminar on Prolife Leadership Development were organized both in Kolkata on 11th February and in Guwahati on 13th of February. Leaders of the two cities joined together to understand the importance of Prolife ministry in India and took an oath to take appropriate steps at their level to stop abortion and save life.
This was done to promote life affirming movement in Eastern and Northeastern states of India where the Abortion numbers are high alarming.
On the night of February 23rd, our newly established center was robbed. One of the STL board members, whose family had donated the land, usually stays there to look after the place. However, she was not present that night, which the thieves took advantage of.
They broke the main door and another entry door, and looted the house. Nearly ₹3,50,000 worth of cash, jewelry, and other valuables were stolen. We discovered the incident only in the morning. Although the police have investigated the case, no recovery has been made so far.
We request your prayers for protection and encouragement, so that the work may continue in a greater way despite such obstructions and discouragements.
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